Newsom Springs
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
A couple of miles outside Arroyo Grande in San Luis Obispo County, Newsom Springs comes out at about the temperature of a warm bath. The road that leads there carries its name. That is most of what the record says. No owner is listed and public access has not been established, so settle the access question before you drive out.
The spring sits in low coastal hills a little over six hundred feet up, a short walk of a hundred yards or so from Newsom Springs Road. Rain comes in winter and adds up to a modest total, and snow does not figure at all. Beyond that the file says nothing about the land unit or what the outlet looks like. Arroyo Grande is the nearest town, a couple of miles away.
Winter is the listed season. Water near body heat will feel pleasant on a cool January day and unremarkable in summer. Neither the owner nor the access status is on record, so look for posting and ask in Arroyo Grande. American Canyon is the closest campground listed, about seventeen miles off. There is no fee on record.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Newsom Springs.
- Setting
- Gentle slope
- The ground tilts gently up to the east.
- Highest ground nearby
- 51 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the east
A slice through the ground from west to east, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's about 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 44% of the springs on this site.
Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
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Overview American Canyon is a small, secluded campground which borders the Machesna Wilderness. While the campground is accessible through the wilderness, it is a long and strenuous hike as vehicles are not permitted in wilderness areas. The only motorized entrance is through the Avenales Ranch. This is a working cattle ranch, and the owners have been generous to grant access to American Canyon through their ranch. Entrance via the ranch gate is opened only during deer hunting season, by rese...
Newsom Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear.
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